New Year New Knees

Snap Crackle and Pop! The notorious sounds of Rice Krispy's and the knees of women and men all across the globe. As a young woman you chuckle at the older women in the back of the church cackling on about the ailments they have suddenly begun to suffer as a part of the aging process. All the while thinking to one’s self "Self, we're not going to be like that we when we get old" because of course it’s okay to talk to yourself when giving the oh so needed motivational speech every now and then. Now when time goes on, we all take for granted the small things in life. For instance, 2 working nostrils! That is until that fateful day your sinuses decide to betray you and one of them stops allowing air to flow freely to your lunges. Then suddenly we appreciate the use of said nostril. Or even the existence of the baby toe until we accidentally bang it against that chair leg that was just out of our peripheral vision. But these are things that after time resume their everyday presence on the list of things out of sight and out of mind.

Suddenly there comes a day when you go to put on your shoes, and you hear it. The quietest yet loudest sound to echo from your body. You stand up so fast you almost lose your balance, looking around your empty bedroom to check if anyone was near to hear this strange sound then slowly bend down again to confirm what you fear! And there it is, CRACK!

Yes, my dear, that is the sound of your knees! After years of dropping it like it hot, they have finally had enough! And those pounds you packed on during the recent pandemic have added to their distress! What to do, what to do?

As the new year has come upon us, it's only tradition to make that standard resolution to lose 90 pounds, eat only foods grown from the earth and hit the gym 7 days a week because we concurred those ambitions every other year, right?!? But this year it’s a little different for us 80’s babies (I know I’m giving away my age here but there’s a point coming along somewhere soon). This year, instead of aiming to lose an absurd amount of weight, it's time to be realistic and stick with 3-5 pounds a month. We can start off with cutting back on sugary or processed foods instead of eliminating whole food groups too. Then there is the gym. I don’t know about everyone else, but this pandemic has not only attacked my sanity, it's roughed up my pockets a little bit too. So, I won’t be joining a gym anytime soon, but I can log on to YouTube and try out a cardio workout once or twice a week!

These are things that are easier to implement into everyday life. Things that may save your knees from continuing to struggle and unlike your nostrils that will recover, may become permanently damaged. Now that we have become the aunties pinching cheeks and squealing at the sight of our kin now 5 years older and 2 feet taller, it's time to become more conscious of how those little things are beginning to have a greater impact on our quality of life. It’s time to strive to know better so we can do better. Instead of cackling amongst ourselves, teaching the next generations how to improve upon their lives now to prevent these coming of old age anecdotes.

So this year's fresh start will be in the form of being realistic with self and setting healthy goals that we can actually accomplish so we can push through this crazy moment in time and come out on the other side healthier and better than ever!